Full-size pickup trucks are about as American as it gets. If there's one thing we need, and one thing we know how to produce, it's a truck. That's why it's hard to justify buying an imported truck, and sales numbers clearly show that it's a feeling that permeates throughout the American truck-buying market. That's why Toyota pulled out all the stops for the 2014 Tundra refresh, and the result was a big, burly truck that - upon first glance, at least - looked like it could go head to head with the best from the Big Three.

It's no surprise that buyers often compare both new and used cars. For a given price point, the market for potential cars explodes once you start looking away from new cars alone. Yes, you might give up the warranty, but if you're looking for something unique, used cars provide a good value ... provided you pick the right one. Bang for Your Buck takes a look at five used cars you could get with the money you'd spend on the new car we've tested recently.

We Look at All-Wheel-Drive vs. Front-Wheel-Drive

All-wheel-drive offers advantages, but are they worth the cost?

All-wheel-drive is safer in theory, because that distribution can get power to the wheels that have traction.

W

ith the exception of sports cars, pickup trucks, and some truck-based SUVs, most cars these days are either front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive (the rest are rear-wheel drive). In many cases, all-wheel-drive is optional and presented as being a safer alternative in wet weather. But is it worth the extra money and added weight?

Before we answer that, we'll start with a primer. Front-wheel-drive means that the engine's power is transferred to the front wheels, and those wheels "drive" the car. In all-wheel-drive cars, either power is transferred to all wheels simultaneously, or a computer distributes power to each wheel and adjust that distribution when necessary, like when the pavement is wet or when one wheel is slipping. Four-wheel-drive systems are similar to all-wheel-drive, but are usually only active part of the time, often at the driver's discretion.

The 2013 Ford Fusion is available with all-wheel-drive.

All-wheel-drive is safer in theory, because that distribution can get power to the wheels that have traction, and because all-wheel-drive cars tend to be "neutral" when they lose grip. That means when the car slides, it doesn't fishtail or plow, making it easier to bring back under control.

By contrast, front-wheel-drive cars tend to understeer, or plow (by continuing on a straight path when the wheels are turned), when the front tires lose grip. Understeer is easier to control than oversteer, or fishtailing, which is more prevalent in rear-wheel-drive cars. When faced with understeer, it's generally best for the driver to do less of whatever he or she was doing. For example, if understeer is being caused by a driver using too much throttle, he or she should back off the gas.

Even though understeer is easier to control than oversteer, it's not as easy to deal with as a car that breaks loose neutrally. More importantly, all-wheel-drive cars are often more reticent to break loose, since power can be shifted to the wheels with the most grip.

Of course, the main advantage to all-wheel-drive is that it can offer more grip on wet pavement, especially in the case of systems that shift the power to the tire or tires with the most grip. Front-wheel-drive can't do that.

That doesn't mean all-wheel-drive is worth it, though. For buyers in the Midwest, the Northeast, and in other places where inclement weather is a frequent occurrence, it might be worth the extra coin. But for buyers in the South and other dry, warm-weather regions, it's hard to justify. Perhaps customers who plan on driving their cars hard could use it, but it seems wasteful otherwise.

The 2013 Cadillac XTS is also available with all-wheel-drive.

Unless you live in a place where it snows.

All-wheel-drive is sold as being better at handling snow, and it can pose an advantage there, again because of some systems' ability to shift power to the tires with the most traction. Even systems that don't shift power have an advantage, since all four tires are getting power. So we'd suggest that if you live in the snow, all-wheel-drive is worth it.

All-wheel-drive doesn't just add cost to the initial sticker price, it also adds weight and complexity. That means repairs could be more costly, and fuel economy will suffer to some degree, which will hurt at the pump. Buyers need to think about this before paying for the peace of mind that all-wheel-drive can offer.

The Lamborghini Huracan was unveiled in 2014, and since the outgoing Gallardo shared its platform with the first-generation Audi R8 (Lamborghini is part of Volkswagen AG, if you didn't know), most assumed that Audi would release a second-generation R8 shortly after the Huracan dropped. Well, it took a few months, but Audi is finally ready to pull back the veil on its all-new R8, and boy, does it look the business.

It is no less than an exciting week in the world of car videos - from the serious and precautionary to the downright fun. From Dallas to Dubai and back again, Web2Carz brings you another installment in our weekly Top Five (truly) Kick-Ass Car Videos.

Sure, we all kind of know how a car is built. It starts out life in an assembly plant, some witchcraft happens, and then a fully-built car rolls off the line. It's not terribly often that we get to catch a glimpse into the long process of actually assembling a vehicle. Toyota's over the moon about its new hydrogen-powered Mirai, so the automaker is bringing us inside the plant for a virtual glimpse into how its all-new fuel cell car is built.